As the leaves are changing colors and falling throughout Santa Clarita, Valencia by FivePoint held its third annual “Fallencia,” in conjunction with the grand opening of Verve Park on Saturday.
Residents could enjoy a pumpkin patch, face painting, a petting zoo and pumpkin decorating with live music right in the heart of the FivePoint community.
The event was open to not only residents of Valencia by FivePoint, but to the public, as well. Paige Glasser Boyd, director of marketing at FivePoint, discussed the growth of this year’s event compared to prior years.
“This is the second park in Valencia by FivePoint, the first being Confluence Park. All of our parks are linked by trails… This is an annual event that we’ve done. The first one was at ‘The Porch,’ which is our temporary space where the farmers market currently is, but because of the opening of Verve Park, we wanted to host it here,” Boyd said. “Every year, we have little nuances on what we’re planning here, but it’s always hubbed by a pumpkin patch, and we’re gifting two pumpkins to every household [that attended].”
Boyd says planning the first event took roughly six months, but that it has become easier throughout the years as the team has gotten used to the routine.
Community members were present with their friends and families.
“I think what stands out this year is the amount of residents we have now, and they absolutely love coming together and having events, but just showing the real sense of community and people coming together or walking and riding their bikes from their homes,” Boyd said. “There’s a lot of diversity here, and they’ll even have culturally themed potlucks. This park is central to the community, and I think that also [plays a role]. I’m most excited for people who haven’t seen the park to see what it’s all about and that it really is different here than anywhere else in Santa Clarita.”
Families, such as the Montoya family, had just arrived to experience the photo booth, before wanting to explore the stations with children Jensen, 2, and Hudson, 1. Hudson was ready to walk around and choose which pumpkin he wanted.
Heidi Arreguin, 4, made sure to feed the chicken grub in style: by having her nails painted.
“Heidi had one wish this fall break, and that was to go to the pumpkin patch and to a fall festival. We heard about this event and have friends who live here, so that’s why we’re here today. They told us about it,” Heidi’s mother, Josephine, said. “It’s so nice to see [the chickens]. It grounds me because it’s so natural. It’s beautiful. I like how the kids are exposed to this kind of nature. I was told that the hens lay about 100 eggs a year. That is pretty hard work.”
